Sunday, February 7, 2010

If it hadn't been for Jeff Deslauriers, the score would have been 10-0 after the second period. The Oilers netminder was brilliant, and he actually kept the Oilers in the game until late in the third period when a Ryan Wilson shot squeaked through. The Oilers, to put it lightly, are not a good hockey club, and the Avs needed to take it to them all night. They did.

Matt Duchene was everywhere. The first goal came after he knocked down a puck out of mid air and made a nice drop pass to Wojtek Wolski. Dutchy also hit the post later in the game, extending his league lead to 1 million in the hit posts category.

Brandon Yip is CBC's new favorite player. Color commentator Kevin Weekes talked about him for what seemed like the majority of the night. Yip ended up with an empty net goal, but it's his defensive zone work and his physical style that's really starting to get him noticed. He's easily been one of Colorado's best players since he was called up 21 games ago.

John-Michael Liles was scratched again. By now, we all know the deal. Someone is getting traded, and if I had to put money on it, that someone is going to be Liles.

Marek Svatos was definitely more involved. He almost scored a couple times and had a handful of brilliant chances. I just don't see where Svatos fits on this team once Hejduk and Jones come back.

Craig Anderson recorded his third shutout of the season against the Oilers and gave my fantasy team a much needed boost. Andy has started 12 games in a row and it looks like he may not get any rest until the Olympic break. Peter Budaj has to play eventually...right?

Paul Stastny and Joe Sacco were on Hockey Night in Canada's After Hours after the game. I'll have a video of that later. Don Cherry also mentioned the Avs on Coach's Corner, which will also be posted.

Avalanche picked up a point on Calgary and kept pace with Vancouver. Off to St. Louis on Monday night.